


"You're too weak to survive."

by floofle_von_snoofle



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Again Gaster is not their father, Alternate Universe - Underfell, Child Abuse, I took off two warnings because they weren't exactly applicable, It's chapter 2 in case you want to know beforehand, but the chapter that seems a bit questionable has been given a forewarning note
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-16
Updated: 2016-05-21
Packaged: 2018-06-02 02:26:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6546742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/floofle_von_snoofle/pseuds/floofle_von_snoofle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sans and Papyrus. Sans only has 1 HP. Papyrus is naive. How could they be expected to survive in a world of kill or be killed?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The world is awful to Sans, but when he falls asleep, he sees wonderful things.

_"SANS! YOUR SKULL'S CRACKED! ARE YOU OKAY?"_

_The weary baby bones winced as his twin's loud voice echoed as he entered the room. "* i'm fine papyrus." Sans lied with the same unreadable "smile" he gave Papyrus when he asked. "DID IT TAKE OFF ANY HP?" The other skeleton inspected his brother's head. "HM...THE CRACKS ARE KINDA DEEP. I THINK SOME OF IT CAN HEAL WITH SLEEP, BUT I DON'T THINK IT CAN ALL HEAL WITH SLEEP."_

_His brother's digits were delicate over his skull. It was foreign to be touched so gently, no matter how many times Papyrus did it. Perhaps Uncle Gaster was also gentle, but he wouldn't know. After all, he had a tendency to keep his hands off them._

_"* papyrus, bro, you don't need to do that." "BUT SANS! YOU HAVE 1 HP! OF COURSE I SHOULD BE CONCERNED! WHAT IF YOUR ATTACKER HAD KR?" Ah, Karmatic Retribution. Sans had that, so why wouldn't Papyrus worry for someone else using it on him when he knows what it could do?_

_"* papyrus, my...attacker had no such thing. if they did, i'd be dead." Sans emphasized that last word with a chuckle, and Papyrus cringed just from the sound of Sans saying that. Noting his brother's concern, Sans "cleared his throat". "* sorry, bro."_

_"IT'S ALRIGHT, SANS. HERE, LET ME HELP YOU THOUGH. THAT WOUND NEEDS CLEANING." He held Sans's hand, taking him to the shower room. He used a sponge to clean up the wound. Sans wondered if humans did this too for a moment. After all, humans had more physical form. That must have meant a messier ordeal._

_Then, he wondered if they did **this**. If they had enough compassion in their SOULs to help one another. If humans had compassion. Or if humans were cruel like most of the monsters he knew. Then he wondered if humans were crueler. After all, humans killed the prince. Humans trapped them here._

_Once Papyrus finished cleaning his wound, he looked at his brother in the eyes. "FLASH YOUR EYES." Papyrus said gently, but firmly, flashing his own for clarification. Papyrus's eyes glowed a soft cyan, then smoothly faded to a soothing violet, and then back to cyan. Sans gathered what energy he had to make them glow. Harsher tones of Papyrus's cyan and a bright, glaring yellow emanated only from the left eye in rapid flashes._

_Papyrus sighed, then dismissed the flashing colors in his eyes. They reverted back to a dark, all too menacing red. "YOUR ATTACKER MUST HAVE INJURED YOUR EYE. CAN YOU SEE THROUGH YOUR OTHER EYE?" Nodding, Sans closed the flickering socket. They glowed the same deep red that Papyrus's did when he opened it. "* i can see you just fine, bro."_

_Smiling gently, Papyrus held to his twin's hand, saying as he brought him back to the sleeping room, "WELL, THAT'S GOOD. AT LEAST YOU CAN SEE THROUGH BOTH EYES. I MET A MONSTER TODAY WHO LOST SIGHT IN ONE OF THEIR EYES. THEY HAD A HIGH LV, SO IT'S A MIRACLE YOU CAN."_

_He closed the door and locked it behind him, then shut the windows and locked them tight. There wasn't too great a chance of someone climbing up just to get to them, but one couldn't be sure._

_"I THINK, DESPITE HAVING SLEPT LAST NIGHT, THAT YOU SHOULD GET ANOTHER TURN TO SLEEP TONIGHT WHILE I STAND VIGIL." Papyrus declared, and Sans chuckled. "* bro, what would i do without you?" He hugged his brother. His brother. The only one who Sans truly felt safe alone with. The only one who he dared let his guard down with._

_Then, it dawned on him as he tucked himself in:_

_His brother was far too kind for this cruel world._

_There, on that bed, Sans made a promise to himself to protect Papyrus as though his life...no. As if everything good depended on it._

_After all, Papyrus has been the best thing in his life. And to take that for granted...that, he realized as Papyrus stood by the window with a weaponized bone in his hands, would be a great, big mistake._

_He wished he could call Papyrus to bed so he could watch over him, but he knew Papyrus was stubborn in everything he did. So, with much reluctance, Sans closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep._

_1 sheep. 2 sheep. 3 sheep...4...sheep...5..._

He saw himself and his brother in a vast expanse, surrounded by crystals like in the wishing room(which no one went to anymore), but it seemed they glowed brighter. Neither of them had their sharpened teeth or Sans his head wound. He knew, though, that the skeleton was in fact Papyrus though, despite looking so much unlike him. Perhaps it was the safe air he had with him.

_6 sheep. 7 sheep. 8 sheep...9...sheep...10..._

They were running around in a brighter version of Uncle Gaster's lab. "[NO RUNNING IN THE LAB!]" Uncle Gaster called, smiling, but also a bit worried. Sans stopped as he saw something strange. "* uncle gaster, what's this?"

"[I DON'T HAVE A NAME FOR IT, BUT-]" "YOU SHOULD CALL IT A GASTER BLASTER!" Papyrus declared with glee, and he added, "YOU SHOULD ALSO GIVE IT SHARP TEETH, LIKE FANGS! IT WOULD LOOK COOLER!" Joining in, Sans added just as excitedly, but also more quietly, "* you should also give it eye glows, like mine!"

Uncle Gaster laughed so happily. It was the happiest he'd ever seen of his fear stricken uncle.

_9 sheep. 8 sheep. 7 sheep...6...sheep...5..._

"HELLO, BABY BROTHER!" The happy world Papyrus looked so happy to see him. He was also a bit taller than he remembered.

"* pappy!" Sans heard an infantile voice call, seeing small arms reaching up for Papyrus. They must have been his own. Hm. Strange. He thought they were twins. Guess they weren't in this dream.

_4 sheep. 3 sheep. 2 sheep...1...sheep..._

_"SANS! WAKE UP!"_

_The young skeleton's sockets shot open, and he saw his brother there at his bedside. The same sharp toothed, but still caring Papyrus he always had close to him._

_He looked around the room. Yup. This is exactly what he was worried about seeing in his dreams. Well...he supposed that this was how it was. After all, the euphoric dreams were just that. Dreams._

_Here, the things he saw in his sweet dreams were unattainable wishes._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! It's me! So, this is a sorta companion fic to "You Love Your Brother, Don't You?" The reason I had Sans having multiple dreams is because that's actually how dreams work, according to what I learned in psychology. That's why dreams are weird and disconnected, I think.
> 
> Thank you for reading! Comments and feedback are helpful and greatly appreciated, but don't leave a comment if you don't want! Even little things like "I enjoyed this" are nice, but still. If you don't want to comment, you can leave kudos and I don't know how bookmarks work even though I have one.
> 
> Have a good day, God bless you all!


	2. Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans sees sweet things when he sleeps. Papyrus, however, cannot say the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING! WARNING! This chapter contains the implication of parent/child sexual abuse. If you are triggered by this, please do not read this chapter. I do not want to hurt you, so for the sake of your mental health, do not read this chapter. Other chapters without such warning are okay if the subject does not trigger you. The next chapter will be a relief chapter.

_It was Papyrus's turn to sleep._

_He dreaded the nights that he was to sleep. He saw terrible things when he slept. And whenever an excuse for Sans to sleep instead came up, he said it. After all, Sans seemed happy when he slept._

_But now, Papyrus was to lay down._

_He stared up at the ceiling as long as he could, thinking about this world instead of the horrors he saw when he slept._   _Not at all that this world wasn't awful, simply that this world was a dream compared to what his dreams beheld. He wondered why everyone else would rather sleep if they saw horrors like the ones he saw in his dreams. Maybe that was simply how they kept their minds strong? But why? Why was the world so full of hate?_

_He thought of what the surface must have been like. He overheard from Uncle Gaster once that the sun felt warm. He really would like to see the surface. He really would. Maybe the ground was soft. He then wondered why everyone was so mean. He heard from Uncle Gaster there once was a time where everyone was a lot nicer and everyone was happier._

_Perhaps...well, Sans has been nice to him! Uncle Gaster has been nice! Even mean people are a little nice at times! Anyone can be good! They just have to try!_

_"* papyrus? are you staring up at the ceiling again?" The other skeleton blinked. He looked at his brother. Smiling nervously, he admitted, "I AM." Shaking his head, Sans asked him, "* do you want me to tell you a story?" Intrigued, Papyrus nodded. "YES." This was a nice change of things. Usually, Sans told him to go to sleep. It was a lot better than sleeping!_

_Sans smiled warmly and sincerely. "* well, once, there were two happy monster brothers. they lived in a place a lot like this, except everyone was happy. the big brother loved his baby brother a lot. his little brother always made people happy. one day, the big brother was carrying the little brother to the outside of the city when they came across a nice man. the nice man was pretty big. he lifted them up and took them to see the whole underground! and they turned to see it was king asgore! crazy, right? well, king asgore was a lot happier too! then, he took them to a very special place."_

_Now, Papyrus leaned in closer. He really wanted to know what that special place was. It seemed Sans was getting even happier as he told the story, so it made it even more interesting to him. And as he told more and more of the story, Papyrus grew happier and happier. Then, as Sans was finishing the story, he started to feel tired. Sans noticed and told him if he was tired that he should sleep._

_So, sleep he did._

_1 sheep. 2 sheep. 3 sheep...4...sheep...5..._

Papyrus was helpless to the bigger monster's whims. He wanted to shut his eyes, but he was told to keep them open. There was a wetness on his face, the unfamiliar sensations of tears and choking. It felt disgusting and painful.

"Good boy." the bigger monster said, and Papyrus whimpered.

_6 sheep. 7 sheep. 8 sheep...9...sheep...10..._

"WHY IS HE DOING THIS TO US?" Papyrus whimpers, and a bigger version of Sans roars, throwing his hands in the air, "* why do you think!? we're things to him! we always have been! and this is just the beginning!"

_9 sheep. 8 sheep. 7 sheep...6...sheep...5..._

There was agonizing silence. Papyrus couldn't move. He couldn't see. He could only feel the sensation of bones breaking in half, chipping away and withering away. Suddenly, he said something.

"I'M SO SORRY."

_4 sheep. 3 sheep...2...sheep...1..._

_"* papyrus, wake up!"_

_Papyrus awoke, and he saw his brother. He saw him there. He was happy to see him._ _What more could he ask for?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! So, this kinda starts out with the fact that he'll sleep instead of a situation that leads into the resting. There is fluff in Sans's chapter and this ends on a mostly despairing note, but this will not be a sad author's note! See, I really wanted to keep Papyrus with the belief that anyone can be good. I thought it would erase a lot of what makes Papyrus who he is if I took that aspect away. I mean, come on. He canonically looks a murderer in the eyes and says that he still thinks they can be better and that he believes in them, even after they kill him.
> 
> Well, God bless and have a good day!


	3. Trophy

 

Papyrus held the worn fabric in his hands. The red cloth was thick, warm, and served well for a cape. It dressed his shoulders well. When he was alone, it was nice to hold it in his hands and fondle the fabric. It was a soothing ritual that sometimes replaced sleep on the truly rare occasion of being too tired to train. When the weather was cold, it was a handy way of keeping warm. It made his silhouette more dramatic and grand, which was perfect for intimidation.

However, it held more meaning to him than just a neat cloth to wear around his shoulders.

It was the first possession he really called his own.

Now, it wasn't that he never had possessions before, but all his other possessions before weren't his to begin with. They never were his. This, however, was and has been **_his_**.

It was a trophy.

Now, it wasn't a trophy in the sense of the mark of having killed, but having survived. And he'd never admit it to any other monster but himself, but it held sentimental value.

_"SANS, GET UNDER THE BIG CLOTH." The anxious, but weary skeleton groaned, putting his hand to his forehead. "* papyrus, we're gonna be seen." "JUST GET UNDER THE STUPID CLOTH, OKAY? IT'S ALL THE WARMTH WE'RE GETTING TONIGHT."_

_Reluctantly, Sans slipped under the fabric, inching closer to his brother. A deep breath out, Sans rested his head on his arm. "*well, i'm here. what now?" Papyrus held onto his brother. "WE STICK TOGETHER. IF ANYONE AMBUSHES, I'LL BE AWAKE. OKAY? I'LL ALERT YOU AND YOU WON'T HAVE TO WORRY." Sans looked left and right. "* well...i guess the law protects us."_

_Sans took a moment to get adjusted with Papyrus. Once he did, he nodded approvingly. "* i guess this was a good idea."_

Papyrus clenched his hand, taking a deep breath as he rose to his feet. Putting the fabric around his shoulders, he stood proud.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I wanted to write something regarding the scarf/cape thingy, and I thought this would be a good way to convey the importance of it to Papyrus.
> 
> As always, have a good day and God bless you!


End file.
